"Throne" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 23 July 2015 as presenter Annie Mac's "Hottest Record",[1][2] before it was released as a single the following day alongside the song's music video.

[3][4] Shortly before the release of the album, "Throne", "Happy Song" and "Drown" were performed at Maida Vale Studios for Radio 1's Live Lounge show.

[7] Keyboardist Jordan Fish described the track as "one of the most simple and straightforward songs" on That's the Spirit, noting its natural progression from elements introduced on 2013's Sempiternal, including "an up-tempo rhythm and really strong melodies".

[8] Describing the track as "fast, short [and] simple", Sykes has suggested that the line "So you can throw me to the wolves/Tomorrow I will come back leader of the whole pack" summarises the themes of the song, which include the proposition that "it's the people that break you that also make you".

Writing for TeamRock, Alec Chillingworth noted that the song "split opinion all over the shop", proposing that it would be seen "as a stroke of genius by some and an abhorrent shit-stain by others" due to its electronic-influenced sound.

[17] Tom Bryant of Alternative Press described the track as "reminiscent of Linkin Park", specifically proposing that it is "a dubstep update on Meteora with Sykes in defiant Chester Bennington mode".

[20] David Renshaw for the NME also made the comparison to Linkin Park on both "Throne" and "Avalanche", which he proposed was thanks in part to the songs' "singalong choruses and driving, expansive production".

Billboard writer Jon Wiederhorn described the song as "Upbeat, melodic and loud without being aggressive", proposing that it "succinctly captures the essence of the entire album".